Happy Friday! Since last week was a super short week due to Mid-Winter Break, this past week seemed to go on forever. So many things were piled on me that I’m in desperate need of the weekend. One of those things included a presentation about ski jumping for my Biomechanics class. With the Olympics in full swing, this class is focusing on the physics and biomechanics of movement required in each event. Therefore, I thought it would be appropriate to share some interesting information with everybody about ski jumping. I don’t want to make this a mundane blog about the history of the sport, so I’ll just give you some cool facts about the sport and it’s development over the years:
- The Sochi Olympics is the first year women got to compete in ski jumping
- The first woman to do so was Sarah Hendrickson (she’s 19 years old!)
- Ski jumping originated in Norway in 1808
- The first jump in 1808 was 9.5 meters and now the record is 246.5 meters
- The length of the skis can be 147% of the person’s height
- Each competitor must have a BMI (body mass index) of at least 18.5 in order to discourage eating disorders
- Scoring is based on distance achieved as well as the style the skier has
- Wind tunnels are used for training when trying to improve aerodynamic technique
- There are practice hills on Astroturf during the summer months
- The V-shape technique of the skis in the air initially was frowned upon but now if proved to increase the lift and total fly time of the skier
- Sara Takanashi would have received a silver medal if she competed against men
If you are more interested in this event and have not seen it on the Olympics, here’s a cool training video of Sara Hendrickson:
I hope everyone is enjoying watching the Olympics and is cheering the USA team on! Have a great rest of your week and get rested up…next week are midterms. Yikes!
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @hopeleslie15.